Monday, September 25, 2006

Merino is here!

I'll post photos as soon as possible, really.

Early observations:

The bag of fiber is over twice the size of the box it came in! (Way to go mom and dad, the queen and emperor of volume)

The fiber is VERY greasy. I can't really tell if the wool is soft because it is damp with lanolin.

The fiber has a, um, scent of wild animal.

I love it, love it, love it!

4 comments:

Wendy Stackhouse said...

If you're washing yourself, use mostly boiling water from the stove. Your tap water won't be hot enough to melt the lanolin properly. When it really melts, it makes a kind of a hissing noise and you can clearly see it on the top of the water, fun! I, too, love the smell, I'm still so surprised!

Congratulations on your fleece and your drum carder!!

Anonymous said...

I think from squashing the wool into a box 1/2 the proper size may have caused the lanolin to spread. It seemed that opening it and letting it breathe might cause the lanolin to sink a little to the bottom???Will the hot water cause it to felt? I sure hope the softness returns. Well, if anything, it certainly has been a fun experience!

Lauren said...

I found you through your knitty pattern, which is adorable! If I can ever get all my christmas presents done I'm going to make a set for myself. :)

Good luck with the wool! I'm sure you'll get it all figured out

AR said...

Love that sheep butt smell!